Ukraine Fully Admits Her Guilt in Downing TU-154 Airliner

Ukraine now fully admits her guilt in the downing over the Black Sea, on October 4, 2001, of the Russian TU-154 airliner following from Tel-Aviv to Novosibirsk. This is according to the statement made by Vladimir Gorbulin, Ukraine's Chairman of the Military-Industrial Complex Committee, at a press conference in Kiev. Mr. Gorbulin assured that the families of the dead in the incident would definitely get their compensations.

He also said that, 'It is definitely in the interests of Ukraine to as soon as possible atone for the damage done' to Russia and Israel whose citizens were aboard the downed airliner. He criticised the decision of Ukrainian authorities to retrieve the wreckage of the airplane from the sea for investigation, saying that the salvaging operation would cost at least USD 10 million and will 'amount to nothing if not to a further delay paying out compensations'.

On October 4, 2001, an Ukrainian antiaircraft missile hit aTU-154passenger airliner following from Tel-Aviv to Novosibirsk. The 78 people aboard died.